Shirley B. (Brown) O'Donnell

formerly of Comstock Parkway, Cranston, Rhode Island, passed away on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. She was the wife of the late Edward J. “Ted” O’Donnell and had been married for 52 years at the time of his death in 2007. She was the daughter of the late Louis C. and Gladys F. (Vanner) Brown.

Born in Providence in 1929, Mrs. O’Donnell graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1947. She worked at the former A.D. Julliard Textile Co. and General Electric Company until the time of her marriage to Ted O’Donnell in 1954. The couple settled in Cranston and raised their four sons.

A woman who devoted her life to her family, Shirley is survived by four sons, Edward F. “Ned” O’Donnell of Greenville (Sarah), Robert E. O’Donnell of Cranston (Judith), Louis B. O’Donnell of Providence and John T. O’Donnell of Harmony (Corrine); and three grandchildren to whom she was steadfastly devoted, Edward N. “Nate” O’Donnell of Greenville and Kristina I. and John L. O’Donnell of Harmony. Until her last day, she took an active and proud interest in her grandchildren’s sports and cultural events no matter where they were held. A proud mother, she attended every event at which one of her sons was feted. She is also survived by a sister, Nancy B. Izzo of Cranston.

Shirley cherished her friends, most of who were from her childhood spent in the Hughesdale section of Johnston. Over the years, she enjoyed playing tennis. For more than thirty years, she and three of her childhood friends made a tradition of celebrating each other’s birthdays by going to lunch and the theater. She enjoyed traveling and had visited Ireland, England and France. She loved live theatre and trips to see plays in New York City, Boston, Essex, CT and Matunuck.

Shirley was active in church and school organizations during her children’s school years. She was a communicant at Holy Apostles Church in Cranston.Shirley was singularly proud of her heritage – both her family name and American nationality. She maintained a genealogy of the Brown family that spanned almost four hundred years. She would remind her children and grandchildren of the ultimate price for freedom that “too many of the boys from Hughesdale” paid during World War II and to never take their right to vote for granted.

Her Mass of Christian Burial to which relatives and friends are invited will be held on Monday, March 27th at 10 a.m. in Holy Apostles Church, 800 Pippin Orchard Road, Cranston. Burial will be in Highland Memorial Park Cemetery, One Rhode Island Avenue, Johnston. Visiting hours are respectfully omitted.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Tockwotton on the Waterfront, 500 Waterfront Drive, East Providence, RI 02914.